Upper Clydesdale: A History and a Guide [Illustrated] (Paperback)

There would seem to be nothing that this author does not know about his subject. Chapter by chapter, he offers a wealth of information about a rich, rural and historic area, illuminating in turn the towns, villages and natural features that cluster round the upper reaches of the Clyde. Not surprisingly, Lanark, Biggar, Lesmahagow, Douglas and Carluke are accorded the importance that their comparative size merits, but the "Pentland villages", the heights of Wanlockhead and Leadhills, the "Orchard Country" and even the delightfully named, but little known, Nemphlar qualify for careful treatment. Nowadays, tourism has made New Lanark, with the Falls of Clyde, a familiar destination and, sadly, many readers will have had personal experience of Law Hospital. Even so, Daniel Martin offers much fascinating material to enhance our knowledge of such locations. The past, the present, local legend, etymology, significant personalities, literary allusion, graveyards, important houses jostle each other - and many more topics- for his attention. There is, in fact, as much in this book to interest the historian as there is to please the tourist; scholarly comment coexists easily with factual precision (roads, for example, are identified by their numbers); and anecdote is consistently underpinned by specific detail.

If this book is packed with facts, observations and references, its dense content is, as a bonus, so presented as to be attractive and, at the same time, ordered and manageable. An introductory Ordnance Survey map provides the context for the material that follows; the front cover gives an appetising foretaste of the many excellent photographs that punctuate the text; and a comprehensive index and reading list assist the reader further.

What really distinguishes this book is that its author is not only a learned authority on Clydesdale, but that he clearly loves his chosen area of study. The sub-title of the book - "A History and a Guide" - is wisely chosen, for it is both. As such, it is a worthy testimony to its author's erudition and powers of scholarly research, as well as to the warmth of his affection for this gentle area of Scotland. From the perspective of Amazon.co.uk, it is surely a "five-crown" title.